Vitamin D helps treat heart failure

Vitamin D improves heart function in people with chronic heart failure.

Heart failure is an extremely serious condition, causing unpleasant symptoms of breathlessness tiredness weakness and swelling, but also has a very significant mortality. Medical treatment consists of drugs (ACE inhibitors, beta-blockers and diuretics) but these have limited effectiveness in some patients, and complimentary therapies such as coenzyme Q 10 l-carnitine and D ribose have also been suggested.

A recent study performed in Leeds hospital (the Vindicate trial) offers hope from an unexpected source, namely vitamin D.
In the study 160 patients on full medical treatment were either given vitamin D or dummy tablets for one year.  At the end of the year those taking the dummy tablets had no benefit on heart function as measured by a cardiac ultrasound scan, but in the 80 patients who took vitamin D 3 the heart function improved from 26 to 34%.

This is a very major improvement in heart function, probably greater than that achieved by any of the modern medical drugs. One wonders why this has not been trumpeted around the world, possibly because it is a supplement and not a drug. Considering there are more than 900,000 people in the United Kingdom, and over 23 million worldwide suffering from heart failure, this therapy could be an extremely cheap and efficient way of helping many people.

It was presented at the American College of cardiology, 65th annual scientific sessions in Chicago in April.

Anybody suffering from heart failure should undoubtedly be taking additional

Amazing results of CoQ10 in heart failure

Why are we not using CoEnzyme Q10 in heart failure?

CoQ10 is like power lines

CoEnzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is essential for transporting energy in the cell as well as a powerful antioxidant.   Energy created by burning sugars and fat in the mitochondrial 'furnaces' in the cell requires CoQ10 to transfer this energy to the muscle fibers, much like power lines take electricity from the power station to factories.  As we age our production of COQ10 drops, and heart failure and statin drugs further lower the levels.    Early trials of CoQ10 in heart failure had mixed results, possibly because low doses of CoQ10 were used and the numbers in the trials were small.

The recently published Q Symbio trial however showed a shattering benefit which should have resulted in headlines throughout the world and made CoQ10 a mandatory therapy for all patients with heart failure - but it has been almost universally ignored. Is it because it is classified as a supplement and cannot be patented or sold by drug companies?

Countries involved

The trial was conducted in 17 European, Asian and Australian countries, in over 400 patients with moderate to severe heart failure, given either CoQ10 100mg three times/day or placebo (dummy tablets) and followed for 2 years. The results were staggering - cardiovascular mortality was reduced from:  (16% in placebo to 9%) in the CoQ10 patients, all cause mortality (18% vs 10%) and hospital admissions (14% vs 7%).

We have no drug that can reduce events and mortality by almost 50%, and here is a safe treatment which had fewer side effects that the placebo which does just that!

Major cardiac events over time

In my view it is almost unethical not to offer this treatment to our heart failure patients!

Heart failure is a major problem in cardiology today, because we are able to treat heart disease with drugs and procedures, and most patients end up with heart failure.   In this study 90% of patients were receiving ACE inhibitors and 75% on beta blockers so they were receiving the best that modern medicine could offer, and yet CoQ10 almost halved their mortality and hospital admissions. 

This study can be placed beside a Swedish study in elderly people - where over 400 people over 70 were given either placebo or a combination of CoQ10 and selenium for 5 years.   Those on the active treatment had a much lower cardiovascular mortality 5.9% vs 12.6% in the placebo group. 

Maybe everyone over 70 years should consider taking CoQ10, and certainly those with heart disease.